Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes

I have lots of blessings I am grateful for--one of which is a husband who loves to cook (and is great at it, too!). I printed this recipe after seeing it on a food blog I recently discovered. Bart found my printed copy and made this for our breakfast this morning. He had the batter ready to go onto the griddle by the time I got home from work. The blog I found the recipe on is www.joythebaker.com. Check out her blog sometime--she has great recipes and fun introductions to the recipes. Especially check out her introduction for the following two recipes--they're really cute:

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2009/04/oatmeal-cookie-pancakes/

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2009/05/sweet-and-spicy-almonds/

In the oatmeal cookie pancakes intro, she writes a letter to her future husband and children. With the sweet-and-spicy-almonds she contemplates old age in a unique way. She gives a great description of these pancakes, so I'll just quote her:

"What could go wrong when fluffy pancakes meet oatmeal raisin cookies? Nothing, just sheer delicious, breakfast times. These pancakes are not overwhelmingly sweet, but have just the right balance of fluff, oats, cinnamon and raisins. With pure maple syrup, these are out of this world! Show some love. Make someone pancakes!"

2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
heaping 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
healthy pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
2 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup golden raisins
oil or cooking spray (for cooking)

Step 1: In a large bowl beat eggs. Add buttermilk, butter, maple syrup and vanilla and mix well. Add flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Mix well until mostly smooth. Fold in raisins and let batter set for a few minutes.

Step 2: Heat griddle or pan over medium heat. Add a teaspoon of oil to the pan or spray with cooking spray. You can test to see if the pan is hot enough by adding a few drops of water. When the drops start to dance it’s hot enough.

Step 3: Pour 2 Tablespoons of batter onto the griddle. Cook on the first side until bubbles that form start to pop. You can also gently lift up the pancake to make sure the bottom is not overcooking, if it is the pan may be too hot and you will need to adjust the heat. Flip the pancake over with a spatula and cook until golden brown. Repeat until all the batter is gone. Let cooked pancakes rest on a heat proof plate in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.